Target practicing device



Feb. 23, 1943.

L.. B. ELLIOT-r TARGET PRAGTICING DEVICE Feb. 23, 1943. v1 BQELLIOTT:

TARGET PRACTICING DEVICE Filed Dec.. 19l 1941 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 EZZz'oINVENTOR.

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Feb. 23, 1943. B. ELLIOTT TARGET PRACTICING DEVICE s `:sneaks-sheet sFiled Deo. 19, 1941 lloyd waz/ 1N VENT OR.

1//5 Arran/5)! Patented Feb. 23, 1943 UNITED STATES ATENT OFFICE TARGETPRACTICING DEVICE Lloyd B. Elliott, Chicago, Ill.

Application December 19, 1941, Serial No. 423,570

(Cl. 124-l6) 11 Claims.

This invention relates to target practicing apparatus for directingprojectiles at desired objectives and has for its principal object theprovision of a shooting device which will be simple in construction,economical in manufacture and highly eicient in use.

Another object of this invention is the provision of a projectileimpelling means which will force projectiles Vout of a gun in rapid-firefashion.

It is another object of this invention to provide in devices forprojecting objects in rapid succession a flexible guide means fordirecting such objects along a desired trajectory.

A further object of my invention is the provision in rapid-nre guns ofan automatic timing device for feeding projectiles into the impellingmeans in synchronism with the impelling action thereof.

A still further object of my present invention is the provision in a gunhaving a freely floating aiming device for directing projectiles fedfrom a fixed impelling means a flexible `guidevvay for feeding suchprojectiles to the aiming device for emission therefrom along apredetermined trai jectory.

Other objects, advantages and novel aspects of the invention will appearin the following specication in view of the accompanying drawings inwhich:

Fig. l is a side elevational view, partly in section, of a deviceembodying my present invention;

Fig. 2 is an elevational view opposite to that seen in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional detail view through an impelling .means forming apart of my invention as .seen substantially along line `3-.3 in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a skeletonized perspective view of the principal embodiments.of my invention;

Fig. 5 is a sectional detail view through the gun or aiming device vseenin .eleva-tion in Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 is a sectional detail view of the gun as seen vsubstantially-along line BS in Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is an exploded perspective View of the gun mount and associatedparts;

Fig. 8 isa skeleton-ized perspective view of 4projectile feeding andtiming mechanism forming a part of my device; and

Fig. 9 is a side elevational view, partly in section, of the ball-feeddevice shown in Fig. 8 and a different position with respect thereto.

This invention provides certain improvements in shooting galleryequipment in the nature of rapid-fire guns and in the present embodimentis shown associated with a cabinet structure generally indicated at I9.Within this cabinet Ill is a chamber II housing the main workings of thedevice, there being a horizontal table I2 upon which is mounted a gunturret It.

The lcabinet Il) provides a front wall I4 upon which is mounted theconventional coin chute I5 which is released for sliding operation bythe deposit of a coin to set into motion a springurged lever forming apart of a timing switch I6 Which is also of a well-known construction.

The switch IS is set to complete a circuit upon each inward movement ofthe coin slide I5 and to maintain such'circuit closed for apredetermined length of time so as to energize an elec- .tric motor Ilin order to operate missile feeding and impelling means now to beexplained.

A projectile impelling means is generally indicated at I8 and comprisesa mounting panel I9 arranged in the chamber II adjacent the walls I2 andI4 thereof. A shaft 2i! is horizontally arranged on the panel I9 forrotative movement and carries on one side of the panel I9 (Fig. 2) apulley 2l drivingly connected by a belt 22 with a Vpulley rotatablymounted on the shaft of the motor I'I. The opposite end of the shaft hasaf- Xed thereto a disc 23 proportionately larger in diameter than thepulley 2l A trough 24 is provided adjacent the disc 23 and is formed inthe panel I9 so as to provide a declining feed trough 25 adapted toreceive pellets or balls P from a -timing mechanism 26 (Fig. 9).

The impelling means I8 further includes a radially extending finger 2lmounted on the disc -2-3 for rotative movement therewith and so arrangedas to travel in the trough 24 to displace balls P as they gravitatethereinto. The iinger 21 is pivotally mounted as at 2t on the disc 23and is normally urged in a clockwise direction against a stop S by aspring 2%. The purpose of making the finger 21 free to move inanticlockwise direction is obvious since it provides for slippage in theevent a ball or balls P become jammed in the trough 24 and therebyavoids injury to swiftly moving parts later to become more apparent.

In the normal operation of the present shooting gallery, the balls P arestored at the lower end of a ball return runway R situated within thecabinet I. Such spent balls lodge in a transverse `slot 30 on a ballelevating segment 3l pivotally mounted as at 32 in the walls of the slotadjacent the upper end of a conduit member 33. A belt and pulley powertake-ofi 34 is drivingly connected to the shaft of the motor YII andterminates in a pulley 35 supported upon a shaft 36 within the chamberII. A cam 31 is mounted upon the shaft 36 and is disposed to engage aroller element 38 extending from the segment 3I such that as the motoris energized to rotate its shaft the cam 31 will rotate (clockwise, Fig.4) to intermittently raise and lower the segment 3l, whereupon the ballsP will be intermittently fed into the conduit 33 and there stored foruse in accordance with the operation of the ball timing mechanism 26.

The timing mechanism 26 is disposed at the lower open end of the conduit33 adjacent the upper end of the feed trough 25. Under normalcircumstances the leading ball P will rest upon cate on the slot and pinmounting 64; it being noted that when the rocker arm 59 is in normalposition the hammer clip 62 in its reciprocable movement will not engagethe upper end of the lever 56 on the ball feed and timing mechanism 26.However, when the trigger 53 is pulled to close the switch 54, thesolenoid 56 will be energized, thus pulling down on its armature andlink 51 to rock the arm 59 counterclockwise (Fig. 2) against the actionof the spring 6I whereupon the hammer 52 will assume the position shownin Fig. 8. The reciprocable movement of the rod 63 and clip 62 will noweffect movement of the lever the floor of the trough 25 and will berestrained against gravitating movement by a pawl 39 pivf otally mountedas at 40 upon a plate 4I forming a support for the conduit 33 upon thepanel I9. The pawl 39 is urged by a spring 42 in a clockwise direction,such spring 42 connecting to the pawl 39'on a laterally extending arm 43and having anchorage as at 44 on the panel I9. The pawl 39 is held in anormal position against the action of the spring 42 Vby a stop member 45adjustably mounted upon the plate 4|.

Means for displacing one ball at a time from beneath the pawl 39includes a shutter or gate element 46 which is movable into and out ofthe trough 25. This element 46 is formed as a part of and extendslaterally from an oscillating member 41 pivotally mounted on the panelI9 as at 48. A spring 49 urges the member 41 and gate 46 into a normalposition so that the balls P are permitted to drop onto the oor of thetrough 25 as aforesaid. Means for oscillating the member 41 comprises alever 50 extending from the member 41 for movement therewith, therebeing a spring mount I associated therewith to take up or compensate anyshock produced by a trip hammer 52 which is adapted to intermittentlystrike the lever 50.

This hammer 52 is controlled by the trigger element 53 of a gun 55mounted upon the turret I3. The trigger 53 is normally out of engagementwith a switch 54 and is arranged with respect toA the latter so thatwhen the trigger is pulled, the switch 54 will close circuit to asolenoid 56. The solenoid 56 is i'ixed within the chamber II Ysu'ch'thatwhen energized by closing of the circuit aforesaid, the armature A willbe pulled down as will alink 51 connected to the armature.V The link 51is pvotally connected as at 58 to a rocker arm 59 rockably mounted as at60 on the panel I9 and urged in a clockwise direction by a spring 6I tonormally raise the link 51 Vand armature of the solenoid 56.

I'he hammer 52 and means for actuating the latter are best illustratedin Fig. 2 and consist of a clip 62 extending laterally from areciprocable rod 63 having a slot formed in Vone end thereof and mountedupon the rocker arm 59 by a pin 64 adjacent the connecting' pin 58 forthe link 51. The opposite end of the reciprocable rod 63 iseccentrically mounted as at 65 on a gear element 66 floatingly mountedupon a fixed shaft 61 which is carried 'by the panel I9. The gearelement 66 has its teeth in mesh with the teeth of a drive gear 68fixedV upon the shaft 20 for rotation therewith.v The arrangement issuch that when the motor I1 is energized as aforesaid to rotate thepulley'2l through the medium of the belt 22, the shaft and gear 68 willlikewise rotate and so will the floating gear 66. By reason of theeccentric 65, the rod 63 will be caused to recipro- 50 and oscillatingmember 41 upon which it is carried to swing the latter upon its pivotmounting 48 into the position shown in Fig. 9.

Upon each movement of the oscillating member 41 into the position shownin Fig. 9, the lowermost ball of the balls P will be forced beyond theball retaining pawl 39, the element 46 acting as a gate to block theremaining balls from gravitating toward the trough 25. The gears 68-66are in a ratio such as to synchronize the feeding of balls into thetrough 25--24 with the movement of the rotatable disc 23 and its ballengaging finger in its ball impelling action, whereby one ball is fedinto position for impelling action for each revolution of the disc 23.

The ball impelling means I8 employs the principle of centrifugal forceand is best illustrated in Figs. l to 5 inclusive. The disc y23 isrotated at a speed suiiicient to cause the ball positioned in the trough24 to hug the floor of the trough which projects off on a tangent bymeans of a sweeping arcuated guideway 69 which terminates at the openend of the barrel of the gun 55. Thus, for each revolution of the disc23 balls are flung in timed relation out of the barrel of the gun 55 inrapid-fire action, thus simulating a machine gun.

The gun 55 is mounted on the turret I3 and is free to swing from side toside rnd to be raised and lowered to give it a wide range of movement inorder to permit a marksman to exercise control over the gun 55 andexhibit his riage 12 carries a trunnion 13 having a horizontal shaft 14upon which is mounted the gun 55 for vertical swinging movement. Thus,the marksman is free to move the gun in any desired position withincertain limits for aiming at targets (not shown).

The arcuate guideway 69 is of a novel construction in that it provides aflexible guideway between a fixed impelling means and a movable aimingmeans. The guideway 69 is constructed of any one of a number of wellknown materials which are flexible and pliableV and yet rigid enough tomaintain a! substantial trough no matter how it is flexed. Bakelite hasbeen found to be most desirable because of its smooth'and highlypolished finish, which cuts downfrictional resistance and permits theballs thrown from the impelling means to travel at the highest rate ofspeed possible out of the gun barrel.

The guideway 69 comprises a pair of spaced wall members 15, fixedlyattached to the panel I9 and extending up through the table I2 and thestandard 18 and into a cylindrical portion 16 simulating a coolingchamber for the barrel of the gun. The upper ends 'l'l 'of the wallmembers are beveled and flt into alignment with `a beveled portion offixed wall members 78 in the gun 55, which lead tothe open =end -of `thegun barrel. The floor proper-of this guideway 69 is a strip of Bakelite'I9 bowed to form 4ari arcuate runway vhaving its lower end fixed to theVpanel I9 in tangential alignment `with the trough 24 and its upper endfixed to the muzzle of the gun. The arrangement of the flexiblelguideway is such that when the muzzle of the gun is swung in variousdirections, th'e -side walls 1B will be moved, thus flexing the spacedwall members 'l5 correspondingly to -any horizontal swing. Likewise,when the muzzle is raised and lowered the arc of the 4bowed strip T9will be enlarged or decreased correspondingly (see Fig. l) to compensatefor such movement.

In the present disclosure my invention Vis shown embodied in va completecircuitous unit in which a marksman fires the gun at objectives (notshown) and the projectiles gravitate back tothe feeding and timingdevice. By reason of the synchronism between the lball feed and theimpelling means, regardless of the speed of the v motor, there will bevbut one ball delivered for each revolution or ball throwing action.Thus, there is no danger of several balls stacking up in the circuitoustrough 24 thus slowing down the speed of the balls as they are ung bythe force of the disc. Incidental to the rapid-fire action there is nooperation of the feeding means other than when the trigger 53 is pulled,thus putting the shooting as well as the aiming under the completecontrol of the marksman.

While I have illustrated and described the preferred form ofconstruction for carrying my invention into effect, this is capable ofvariation and modification Without departing from the spirit of theinvention. I, therefore, do not wish to be limited to the precisedetails of construction set forth, but desire to avail myself of suchvariations and modifications as come within the scope of the appendedclaims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire toprotect by Letters Patent is:

1. In a device of the class described including a gun, means mountingsaid gun for movement about a horizontal axis, said mounting meansproviding a trunnion for swinging said gun on a vertical axis, a ballimpelling means arranged beneath said gun for impelling balls one at atime in the direction of said gun, and a pliable trough extending fromsaid ball impelling means to the muzzle of said gun for conducting ballsfrom the former to the latter.

2. In a device of the class described including a cabinet, an aimingdevice, means mounting the latter on said cabinet for movement relativethereto, a ball impelling means in said cabinet, a flexible ball runwayextending from said impelling means to said aiming means, and means forfeeding balls one at a time to said impelling means for movement by thelatter Aalong said runway.

3. In a device of the class described including a cabinet, a gun turreton said cabinet, a gun including a barrel mounted on said turret forlimited movement in a horizontal as well as a vertical direction, meansfor impelling balls from said gun by centrifugal force, said last namedmeans including a rotatable disc arranged in said cabinet, a segmentaltrough adjacent said disc, means for feeding balls to said segmentaltrough, ball engaging means onv said disc and adapted to bemoved-thereby through `said segmental trough, a flexible troughextending tangentially from said segmental trough into and through thebarrel of said gun for directing impelled balls from the disc to themuzzle of the gun, and means for driving said-disc to urge said kballsout of said segmental trough by centrifugal force.

4. In a device of the class described including a cabinet, a gun turreton said cabinet, a gun including a barrel mounted on said turret forlimited movement in a horizontal as well as a vertical direction, meansfor impelling balls from said gun by centrifugal force, said last namedmeans including a rotatable disc arranged in said cabinet, a segmentaltrough adjacent said disc, means for feeding balls to said segmentaltrough, ball engaging means on said disc and adapted to be move-dthereby through said segmental trough,

a flexible trough extending tangentially from said segmental trough intoand through the barrel of said gun for directing impelled balls from thedisc to the muzzle of the gun, means for driving said disc to urge saidballs out of Said segmental trough by centrifugal force, and meansconnecting said driving means with said ball feeding means tosynchronize the feeding of the balls with the impelling of the same.

means between said impelling means and said aiming means whereby thelatter may be moved into varied positions at the option of the marksman,and missile timing means between said storing means and said impellingmeans for feeding missiles one at a time to the latter.

6. In a shooting apparatus, an aiming device, meansfor storing missilesfor gravitating movement, centrifugal impelling means adapted to receivesaid missiles from said storing means and to discharge said missiles oneat a time through said aiming device, a flexible missile guiding meansbetween said impelling means and said aiming means whereby the lattermay be moved into varied positions at the option of the marksman,missile timing means between said storing means and said impelling meansfor feeding missiles one at a time to the latter, and means forsynchronizing the timing means and said impelling means whereby onemissile is fed to the latter for each operation thereof.

7. In a target practicing apparatus including a cabinet, a ball storagechamber in said cabinet, means for returning balls to said chamber, anaiming device mounted on said cabinet for swinging movement relative tothe latter, ball impelling means for flinging balls out of said aimingdevice one at a time in rapid-fire action, said last named meansincluding, in combination, a disc, means mounting the same in saidcabinet for rotatable movement. an arcuate trough arranged tocircumscribe said disc in part, means feeding said balls from thestorage chamber to said arcuate trough, means on said disc extendinginto said trough, a resilient trough arranged to extend from saidarcuate trough tothe muzzle of said aiming means and adapted to flexcorrespondingly with the aforesaid movement of the latter to directballs in a trajectory in accordance with the position of said aimingmeans, and drive means for said disc.

8. In a target practicing apparatus including a cabinet, a ball storagechamber in said cabinet, means for returning balls to said chamber, anaiming device mounted on said cabinet for swinging movement relative tothe latter, ball impelling means for flinging balls out of said aimingdevice one at a time in rapid-fire action, said last named meansincluding, in combination, a disc, means mounting the same in saidcabinet for rotatable movement, an arcuate trough arranged tocircumscribe said disc in part, means feeding said balls from thestorage chamber to said arcuate trough, means on said disc extendinginto said trough, a resilient trough arranged to extend from saidarcuate trough to the muzzle of said aiming means and adapted to flexcorrespondingly with the aforesaid movement of the latter to directballs in a trajectory in accordance with the position of said aimingmeans, drive means for said disc, and means -connecting said drive meansand the means for feeding said balls whereby to time the feeding ofballs relative to the impelling thereof.

9. In a device of the class described comprising a gun arranged to movein vertical and horizontal directions and including a Xed ball impellingmeans for urging balls in the direction of said gun, the combinationtherewith of a ilexible ball guiding means arranged between saidimpelling means and said gun, said ball guiding means including a pairof spaced resilient wall members having their lower ends Xed to saidball impelling means and their upper ends free to move with respect tosaid gun, and a resilient iloor for said runway disposed between saidwall members and having its lower end xed to said ball impelling meansand its opposite end iixed to the muz- Zle of said gun, whereby todirect balls emitting from said impelling means along a trajectorydependent upon the movement of said gun.

l0. In a target practicing apparatus, including a cabinet, a ballstorage chamber in said cabinet, means for returning balls to saidchamber, an aiming device mounted on said cabinet for swingingmovementrelative to the latter, ball impelling means for flinging balls out ofsaid aiming device one at a time in rapid-fire action, said last namedmeans including, vin combination, a disc, means mounting the same insaid cabinet for rotatable movement, an arcuate trough arranged tocircumscribe said disc in part, means feeding said balls from thestorage chamber to said arcuate trough, means on sai-d disc extendinginto said trough, a resilient trough arranged to extend from saidarcuate trough to the muzzle of said aiming means and adapted to llexcorrespondingly with the aforesaid movement of the latter to directballs in a trajectory in accordance with the position of said aimingmeans, and manual control means on said aiming device operativelyassociated with said ball feeding means for feeding balls as aforesaidat the option of the marksman.

l1. In a target practicing apparatus including a cabinet, a ball storagechamber in said cabinet, means for returning balls to said chamber, anaiming device mounted on said cabinet for swinging movement relative tothe latter, ball impelling means for flinging balls out of said aimingdevice one at a time in rapid-fire action, said last named meansincluding, in combination, a rotatable member, means mounting the latterfor rotatable movement, drive means for said rotatable member, a ballrunway extending from said ball storage chamber and about said rotatablemember to the discharge end of said aiming device, ball engaging meanson said rotatable member and adapted to extend into said ball runway forurging balls through the discharge end aforesaid by centrifugal force,ball feeding means in said runway at its juncture with said ball storagechamber for ejecting ,balls one at a time into said runway, and manualcontrol means on said aiming device operatively associated with saidball feeding means for feeding balls as aforesaid at the option of themarksman,

LLOYD B. ELLIOTT.

